


until the dawn returns

by norikae



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Epic quest, Found Family, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Tags will be updated as and when necessary
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-26
Updated: 2020-05-17
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:14:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,645
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23781418
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/norikae/pseuds/norikae
Summary: Minhyuk wasn't much of a cleric, truth be told. The only reason he was on this quest at all was because the Order thought he was disposable - was calling in on the debt he'd long been held to owe.That part didn't bother him - it was good to be out of the walls of the diocese. And at least he had the friends he'd found - and Kihyun. And all the rolling land before them, and all they'd left behind.But one thing wouldn't leave him - a very real possibility that he'd swept to the back of his mind, that persistently loomed large nonetheless.What would become of all of them if he failed?
Relationships: Lee Minhyuk/Yoo Kihyun
Comments: 7
Kudos: 17





	1. silver as the moon

**Author's Note:**

> This fic will follow a very general fantasy setting format. Think of your usual classes, the sort of worlds there are in a JRPG - I’ve chosen this format because it is familiar and beloved to me. As a heads up, since Min is a cleric, there will be allusions to the religion in this universe, but nothing too in detail beyond what is required for the plot. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy.

It was a warm, balmy night.

The boy sat on the edge of the forest clearing, huddled up in his customary robes. The air had already begun to change; soon they would be heading into a cooling autumn as the leaves turned brown and fell around them. The apex of their journey might well be made in the harsh bite of winter, something he would sooner avoid than not.

But it hadn’t been his choice, he thought grimly, eyes scanning the darkness for any hint of movement. The Order had offered him up so promptly when the missive had come, and sent him off without so much as a by-your-leave…

“Your thoughts are so loud they woke me up.”

Startled, he turned towards the voice to see the hooded face of his dear friend, eyes sharp and bright even in a face still worn with sleep. “Kihyun,” he greeted hastily, patting the space next to him in an invitation. “Is it your watch already?”

“Minhyuk,” Kihyun greeted back drily, a twinge of humour in his voice. Then he cast a glance up into the sky, where the moon peered coyly out at them behind a heavy screen of grey clouds. 

“Sure is,” he hummed, as he dropped into a sitting position next to Minhyuk. “Go to sleep, your holiness, we’ve got a long day of travel tomorrow.”

Then he paused, and peered into Minhyuk’s face, gaze heavy and considering. “Unless you’d prefer to talk about it?”

Minhyuk chewed on his lip, then shook his head slowly. The commanding tones of the senior clergy retreated back into his mind. “It’s nothing important,” he said, careful not to sound too cheerful or risk giving himself away. “But just - I don’t want to go back to an empty tent right now.” He paused. Added, unnecessarily, “The woods are scary.”

Kihyun looked at him the way he did when he was assessing how best to hit a moving target from downwind. “You need to rest,” he insisted, then pursed his lips. He seemed to reach a conclusion. “Fine. How’s this? You can stay here with me until Wonho-hyung's watch if you promise to sleep.” 

Minhyuk’s face broke into a grin. “You’re the best, Kiki,” he cooed, capturing his friend in a brief bear hug. “You’re my favourite person in all the world.”

Kihyun bore it for a moment, then shoved him away as gently as one possibly could while making a very big fuss of it. 

“I know,” he said, simply, watching as Minhyuk promptly proceeded to curl up on the grass next to him. “Geez, your holiness - you could at least use your hood so your face doesn’t get ruined by grass and dirt. Here, let me.”

Minhyuk patiently lifted his head as Kihyun reached for his hood where it was crumpled under his body weight, tugging it out and arranging it around Minhyuk’s head so he would have a more comfortable sleep. “Take care of yourself a little. Damn.”

The grass was cool, and Kihyun’s presence next to him made him feel safe. Minhyuk snuggled a little bit closer, murmured, “That’s what I have you for, innit?” The day had been long, and his body was finally giving in to the urge to rest.

Kihyun’s voice was a hum at the edge of his consciousness when he spoke next. “Insufferable,” Minhyuk thought he heard him say, and then there was a light brush of a hand against his forehead before he fell asleep.

—-

“Breakfast is served!”

In the morning, Minhyuk thought, things always looked a little brighter.

Or maybe it was the unflappable cheer on Wonho’s face as he puttered about the campfire, seeing to it that everyone got their serving in the assorted tableware they had picked up along their way. He tended wounds for a living, it was true, but there was something else about him that tended to be curative on a deeply personal level, too. It was very hard to be upset when Wonho was around.

Minhyuk took a careful, contemplative sip of his herbed tea and glanced into the shallows of his cup. Maybe it came with the territory. But he healed too, if not entirely as a vocation then at the very least as his main contribution in travel, and yet he hardly felt he exuded as much light as he felt he strictly should.

“Oh my _god_ , does your brain ever shut up?”

Minhyuk jolted out of his gloom to peer at Kihyun as he joined him on the log that was his makeshift bench. “I can hear every word you’re thinking,” he hummed, idly jabbing at his plate with a utensil. “It’s way too early for that, Min. At least wait til noon.”

Minhyuk let himself smile, nudge Kihyun with his shoulder. He leaned into the contact briefly before pulling himself away. “You speak like brooding thoughts are a tankard,” he jibed softly. “No drinking before noon, the village elders would say.”

“No drinking at all, oh ye of the cloth,” Kihyun countered, then laughed at the look on Minhyuk’s face. “I know, I know. It’s not like anyone except the Bishop actually keeps to that rule. But so you _are_ sulking, then?”

Minhyuk whipped his head around, still chewing on a piece of meat. “I was _not_ ,” he objected, a bit too loud. “Who said anything about a sulk?”

Kihyun quirked an eyebrow at him. “You did,” he said, then just as abruptly dropped the subject. “Hey, Shownu-hyung, is this rabbit?”

Their resident warrior looked up at being called, then smiled at them both. “Yes,” he confirmed. “They were the quickest thing to hunt. Although I’ve heard Pendraegan hare is best in stew.”

Next to him Jooheon shrugged. “This is good, too. It’s been too warm lately for stew, anyway.” He wore a lean ensemble that cut close to his skin, and his arms were bare for once, although he tended to wear long gloves in the night or - Minhyuk guessed - on a mission. As he jiggled a leg the very faint outline of a dagger revealed itself in his boot.

“Yeah, it’s really good,” Kihyun agreed, voice pitched just right to carry across their camp. “Wonho-hyung, you’ve got to show me the magic sometime.”

Wonho beamed at the praise. “No magic at all,” he chirped. “And I couldn’t take all the credit, Shownu-hyung helped too.” 

On cue, there was a snort of agreement. “If magic could do this, maybe I wouldn’t have had 4 years of gruel when I was in the academy.” Hyungwon unfolded his legs and wiped his mouth rather crudely on the back of a sleeve. “Cooking is an entirely different arcane art altogether.”

“Hyungwon-hyung wouldn’t be able to roast a chicken if it leapt on a stick above a roaring fire in front of him, though.” Here was the last and youngest member of their motley crew. Changkyun grinned to show it was in jest. “Some things are beyond the highest pinnacles of learning.”

Hyungwon looked briefly morose. “It’s true,” he agreed. “In our final year someone accidentally set a lab on fire and it took all twelve of us five minutes of panicking before a passing first year put it out with a basic water spell.”

He paused, ruminating slowly on a bit of meat. “I’m not sure I’ve recovered from the embarrassment since.”

The soulfulness with which he said it made Minhyuk laugh. He and Kihyun had met Hyungwon in the markets of the city that had been their first major stop from Wealdstone, a scholar who had been uncharacteristically amiable. 

When he had heard they - an odd enough pair to be seen walking through city streets - were on a quest and would be traveling north he had nearly begged to come along, eager to see the world beyond the University’s walls. They’d never had cause to regret saying yes.

Minhyuk glanced sideways to see Kihyun looking at him with a look he couldn’t place. “What?” he asked, voice dropped to a whisper as the conversation turned towards an exchange of embarrassing stories. “Is there something on my face?”

Kihyun briefly looked strangled and confused all at once. “No-o,” he said eventually, then looked alarmed at the way his own voice seemed to have to squeeze out. His brow was furrowed when he spoke. “It’s just. Good for you to loosen up, that’s all.”

Minhyuk tilted his head all the way left, like the change of angle would allow him to see Kihyun better. “Huh,” he said eventually, then broke out into a grin. “Guess you’re right. I do feel better now. Thanks, Ki.”

Kihyun harrumphed and scooted a little further away from him on the log. “For what,” he scoffed, then stood up, bowl in hand. “Come on. We’ve got to wash up in the river before we set off.”

—-

Altimor would be another two days by foot. It would have been much quicker if they were all on mount, but steeds were of course pricey, and the only horse they had with them was Wonho’s, a sturdy mare who bore their heavier equipment patiently and with ease.

Minhyuk wiped the sweat off his brow, then wondered not for the first time in their less-than-two-months-old journey why it was that he was obliged to wear heavy robes wherever he went. 

_Modesty be damned,_ he thought sulkily, looking enviously at Wonho up ahead, who was garbed in a cotton vest and practical pants far more suited to the climate. Even then his fair, muscular arms gleamed with a sheen of sweat in the slivers of sun shafting in through the forest canopy. _I can’t do the Church any favours if I’m dead from the heat before we get there._

As he brooded he bumped briefly into Shownu, who took one look at him, and then called out front before Minhyuk could say anything. “Wonho. Slow down a little.”

“It’s fine,” Minhyuk hastened to tell him, embarrassment colouring his cheeks ruddy. “It’s not that warm, we need to keep the pace if we’re gonna make it there on time.”

Shownu laughed, a kind of openness in his face that it was rare to see. He tended not to speak much; Minhyuk had heard from Wonho that he used to be a knight but had a lord no longer. That way lay uncomfortable discussions, he knew, and trusted Shownu would tell them sometime. “I’m fairly good at telling when someone’s about to keel over from heat stroke.”

“What? How?” Minhyuk started, then blanched as he realised. So much for his plan not to ask personal questions. “I mean. You don’t have to -”

Shownu’s expression didn’t give anything away. “Good men often don’t say when they’re hurting, for fear of slowing the squadron down,” he said, very practically. “You learn to see it.”

“Oh,” Minhyuk said, faintly. “Yeah, I guess that makes sense.” He smiled, tugging at his collar a little to attempt to air out the sweat that had gathered there. “Thanks, hyung. It’s like you’re a born leader type. You know?”

This did send the briefest flicker of surprise dancing across his companion’s face. “Ah,” Shownu said, sounding faintly embarrassed. “It’s - very kind of you to say that.”

Something about the ruffle in Shownu’s impeccably calm demeanour at such an ordinary remark tickled him. Minhyuk barked out a laugh and raised a fist to lightly tap the older man in the shoulder.

“You don’t have to sound so shocked, hyung,” he told him, puffing out his chest like he was offering advice as sage as the clerical robes he wore. “It’s like, totally okay to acknowledge that you’re good at something.”

Shownu blinked once, then twice. Very slightly, he smiled. “I’ll make a note of that,” he rumbled warmly. “You’re not so bad at pep talks yourself.”

“I try,” Minhyuk replied brightly. “Um, it is our duty to guide all who walk alongside the Brightest Star, and all.” He tripped a little on the folds of his robe as he shuffled along. “Although I don’t think I’ve had all that much practice. In the guiding thing.”

Shownu’s mouth twisted just a little. “You’re not very religious, are you.”

Completely taken off-guard Minhyuk squawked, and this time his foot did catch on the draping cloth. He stumbled forward gracelessly, tumbling straight into the back of the person before them - it happened to be Jooheon, who twisted around, reflexes knife-quick, and caught him before he face-planted into the ground.

“No!” Minhyuk blurted, then coloured further. “I mean yes. Uhm.” He noticed where he was. “Thanks, Jooheon. Uhm. You think you could let me go?”

Jooheon raised an eyebrow, and shared a look with Shownu. Obligingly he lifted his arms to return Minhyuk’s centre of gravity above his base, and stepped back to allow him to dust himself off and regain some composure. 

“Careful, boss,” he drawled, before turning back around and signaling to the group that they could carry on. The ease with which he exited the conversation belied the way Minhyuk knew he would doubtless extract the entire contents of their conversation from him later. 

Sighing ponderously, Minhyuk jogged a little to catch up with the rest. “I - Well, I don’t know if I can talk about it. Or should. People have been convicted for less,” he mulled. “I wouldn’t even say this to you if I didn’t think you were trustworthy, though.”

Shownu laughed. “I’m not sure that would’ve made a difference.”

Indignant, Minhyuk drew himself up to his full height. He still came a few inches short of the older man’s sturdy frame. “What do you mean by that?!”

“You’re a very honest person,” Shownu said, looking him dead in the eye. “I’m not sure you could lie to save your life.”

Minhyuk opened his mouth to protest it, then faltered. That it was untrue wasn’t something he was inclined to reveal - not, at least, any more in addition to what he had already revealed in the course of the day’s trek alone. 

Alongside them and stretching out for miles and miles was lush greenery, thick foliage that only served to trap the stifling heat radiating from the ground around them and soaked them deep in swelter. Minhyuk counted the shades of deep, deep green, and let himself reach an arbitrarily chosen number before he replied.

“Yeah, well,” he mumbled, shiftily. “I wonder.”

Shownu looked at him for a second more, then reached for his belt and pulled out a canteen. He offered it to Minhyuk wordlessly.

“After that conversation I really could use a drink,” Minhyuk joked, in a feeble attempt to disguise how strange the air had suddenly gotten. “But it’s ok, hyung. I’ve got my own.” He’d run out of water ten miles back, actually.

Shownu looked down at where Minhyuk’s canteen swung freely as he walked, then shook his own again, one eyebrow raised as if daring him to object.

Exhaustion warred briefly with his unwillingness to impose. The looming fog in his mind sealed the decision for him. “Thanks, hyung,” Minhyuk mumbled gratefully. The water, though warm, soothed his parched throat and cleared some of the haze. He kept a careful grip on the leather, mindful not to let anything spill.

Shownu was already walking on, and slanted him a smile as he jogged up to Wonho, most likely to discuss the pace of their journey ahead. “It’s the least I can do,” he replied. “Don’t mention it.”

\---

When they finally came to rest, it was an hour after noon, when the sun was beating down so strongly that moisture seemed to ooze out of every atom of air, and even Shownu looked flushed, sitting under the shade of a tree and fanning himself with a large fallen leaf.

“We’ll move out of wooded territory by evening,” Wonho was explaining, tracing lines on a map. “The problem will probably be finding somewhere to rest. It’ll be regular plains for quite a while, so the best case scenario would be a grove.” 

He paused, then caught Hyungwon’s eye, his expression carefully blank as if trying to hide that he didn’t understand the significance of what Wonho had said. “There’s no cover out on the open plains,” he added out loud, ostensibly addressing all of them. “Trees would make us less visible at night.”

Minhyuk watched as Wonho waited for Hyungwon to acknowledge his understanding before continuing on his original point. “If not, we can just double the watch, but that obviously isn’t ideal, because it means everyone gets less sleep.” 

“And none of us want that,” Kihyun joked, from the branches of a low-built tree just behind them. “We wouldn’t be able to wake Hyungwon ‘til noon.”

His companions were nice, Minhyuk thought idly, watching gratefulness bloom on Hyungwon’s face even as Kihyun and Wonho began to engage in a light to-and-fro. 

Having grown up within the walls of a University meant Hyungwon had an incredible propensity for books and the spells found within their pages in a capacity that far outstripped his own, but it also meant he was starkly unaware of the world outside those walls. 

Even Minhyuk had often been on trips outside the church city proper, because as an acolyte he’d had tasks to run, and people to tend to. But Hyungwon… Well. He was learning quickly with the kindness of their travel mates. He smiled to himself.

“Why don’t you lose some layers?”

Minhyuk startled at the sound of a voice next to his ear. It was Changkyun, too close, gazing intently at him. His lute was ever-present, strapped to his back, even as he laughed at the implications of what he’d said and corrected himself. “I mean, why don’t you bog yourself down with less fabric in a climate like this.”

“I have,” Minhyuk said pointedly, indicating his travel cloak, which had been cast onto a low branch a short distance away. It had needed some airing out with all the sweating he’d done. “I’m cooling down even as we speak.”

Changkyun raised one eyebrow, very sharply. Silently for a few moments both of them regarded the heavy structured cotton of Minhyuk’s high collar, gold lining only barely visible under the massive overcoat he wore over it. Where it cut off mid-calf revealed tailored white pants that folded into sensible travel boots, his one concession to practicality.

“Well,” Changkyun said, gesturing with one arm vaguely at the entire of Minhyuk’s person, the fabric of his loose sleeve ballooning as it went. “You sure?”

Minhyuk smiled without very much force to it. “If you want the truth, it’s because I can’t.”

“You...can’t,” Changkyun repeated, slowly. He looked like he wanted to ask more, but something clearly dissuaded him of the notion at the last moment, and he settled for a nod instead, tugging his lute off his back and strumming it aimlessly instead.

“Hey, you wanna hear a song?”

It was one of the most blatant changes of subject Minhyuk had ever seen. Not that it happened much in the Church, what with the focus on accountability to all and the Star above. When people lied they learned to commit smoothly to it. 

Here, he hadn’t known his companions too long to draw any conclusions as of yet. They’d shared many a tale, of course, but that was different from knowing someone. He made a note to work on that in the coming months. “Sure,” he said, cracking a smile. “What’ve you got?”

Already skilful fingers were picking a melody on the strings; Changkyun closed his eyes as he began to hum. “The ballad of El, the First Flame,” he said, cracking an eye open as he smiled crookedly at Minhyuk. “You’ll need no further introduction, of course.”

The story of the hero who had first saved the world. A household favourite. Minhyuk echoed the expression, then leaned back against the tree trunk behind him and gazed up into the canopy, where light waxed and waned and kissed his skin. 

_From southern lands beyond the sea / a heroine unknown…_

—-

Later that night, after they had trekked for the last of the day, they made camp in the dying light in the shadow of a large rocky outcrop a while off the beaten road.

“Alright, who’s up for some hunting?”

It was Wonho who had spoken, smiling that permanent half-smile of his. Minhyuk briefly considered the curl of that mouth and how comforting it was quickly providing to be, and smiled back when their gazes met.

There was a _clunk_ as a travel pack went clattering to the ground, and Hyungwon stumbled into sight, clearly winded. “Me,” he offered, one long arm thrown out to stabilise him. “I mean. If you don’t think I’ll slow you guys down. I’d like to learn.”

Wonho threw his arms out in welcome and gestured towards Hyungwon as if to say, _come right along._ “There’s a learning curve and we’ll teach you how to keep from startling the animals, but I’m sure your magic will come in hopeful,” he said warmly.

Hyungwon brightened all at once. “Really?”

Wonho beamed back. “Of course.” Then he turned back to the rest of the campsite. “Anyone else?”

Before Shownu could volunteer - as he was wont to, out of his sense of duty - Jooheon materialised next to where Wonho and Hyungwon had come to stand, hand lingering absently on the handle of one of his few visible daggers. “I’ll come with,” he offered, nudging Hyungwon lightly in the shoulder. “Teach you some of the finer points of sneaking.”

Their resident scholar looked so grateful that for a brief moment Minhyuk wondered if he was going to cry. But it was gone as quick as it had come, and he was sandwiched between Wonho and Jooheon as the three of them made their way off - where, Minhyuk didn’t know, because to his untrained eye all he saw was grass around them.

A leg nudged his. Minhyuk knew before turning that it would be Kihyun, looking tired from the day’s exertions.

But his voice was oddly gentle. “Hey,” he said, then pointed off back the way they had come with his chin. “There’s a river about two miles back.”

Minhyuk got up, finally remembering to shrug out of his travel cape and overcoat. Suddenly feeling naked, he tugged consciously at the fabric of his jacket and patted at his pants, only now seeing the wrinkles that had worked their way in over the course of the journey.

Kihyun snorted. “I’ve seen you in far worse states, your holiness,” he reminded him. _And in far less_. The thought crept unbidden into Minhyuk’s brain, and by the time he was able to process it it was thankfully well on its way out.

“Propriety,” he muttered anyway, even though it was not at all unusual for clerics to be seen in the city proper sans robe in the summer months. It just felt - he shook his head to clear himself of the thought. He didn’t need to think about that right now. What he needed was a good bath.

He had been so lost in his thoughts that he had failed to notice Kihyun going around the camp to collect the others’ canteens and a bucket, the latter of which he tossed at Minhyuk. “Let’s go, then,” he quipped, one corner of his mouth turning up. “You look like you need it.”

—-

When they finally came to the river, the both of them set down their burdens and disrobed in silence. Today the moon was a wide curve in the sky, the bright knowing grin of someone who knew a secret.

The chill of the water was a welcome respite from the warmth of the day. After a few further moments of quiet Minhyuk felt rested enough to crack open an eye. 

“Ki,” he said, so quietly that he wasn’t sure he’d been heard over the rush of water.

A small distance away Kihyun turned, eyes wide, and focused his attention on him. “Yeah?” Without waiting for him to answer: “There’s something on your mind.”

That much made him huff out a puff of a laugh. “When isn’t there,” Minhyuk quipped. “You always tell me I’m a worrywart.”

Kihyun pursed his already plump lips so severely he resembled a fish. “And did I _lie_?”

He’d crossed his arms over his chest to accentuate the point, water slipping over his skin and leaving it glistening like wet marble. Minhyuk’s gaze caught briefly on the curve of a defined tendon in his neck - he sucked in harshly through his teeth, ripping his gaze away, and dunked his head under the water, holding it there for two beats before he emerged with a gasp, combing his hair away from his face so he could see.

Kihyun was laughing. “Wow,” he jibed, eyes crescenting. “Has it always been that difficult to admit I’m right?”

Minhyuk thanked the Brightest Star for Kihyun’s own erroneous conclusion. “Maybe,” he said evasively, playing along. “But well. You’re right.” Bar the occasional fortuitous mistake - like the one that had just happened - Kihyun tended to be, when it came to him.

Kihyun lowered his face until only his head peeked out above the water. “So what’s eating you?”

Minhyuk took some time scrubbing the dirt out from under his nails before he replied. “This quest,” he admitted, eventually. He couldn’t find it in himself to elaborate.

He didn’t have to. “You feel like you can’t do it,” Kihyun said softly. Minhyuk nodded once, woodenly, in response.

“We both know I wasn’t chosen for some special ability,” Minhyuk murmured, suddenly very fascinated by the texture of a nearby rock. “I’m not even cut out for all this travel. We don’t - we don’t even know what it is we’re supposed to _do_!”

“We’ll ask the right questions along the way and we’ll find out, Min,” Kihyun said, looking at him with those strange intense eyes of his. “You don’t need to know right from the offset. We’ll figure it out with you.”

 _We_. There was the word Kihyun kept using, which sat like an ill-tailored jacket on Minhyuk’s shoulders; he was helpless but to shrug it off. There were a lot of things he wanted to ask on that account - simultaneously he was aware that many of them would be unfair to sling at Kihyun. He took a deep breath in, then thought.

Eventually he asked, very quietly, “Why did you choose to come along?”

Kihyun looked at him, then blinked. “Because you’re my best friend, stupid. Who’s gonna save you when a Direwolf comes charging out of a brush to eat you whole because you accidentally set foot on its territory?”

Minhyuk huffed. “I can cast magic,” he said. “See?” He cast a shield on a nearby rock - weak, without his staff to augment it - and they both turned to see how the river altered its course to flow around the invisible barrier instead.

Kihyun rolled his eyes, but let the point slide. “What if the Direwolf had a friend?” A pause, and then. “Did you really expect me to sit around in Wealdstone for a year without knowing where you were or if you’d ever come back? Seriously?”

All at once he remembered the time he had gotten lost in the forest picking flowers instead of learning his prayers. No one from the clergy had come for him - he thought maybe it was to make sure he learned his lesson - night had fallen and he had cried himself sick before Kihyun had found him, having desperately begged some of the city’s men to join him in a search. 

_Don’t you dare go anywhere without me again,_ Kihyun had bossily told him, even as he’d tackled him into a hug. _Stop crying, Min. Come on. Let’s go home._

They’d been seven then, and Kihyun’s mother had still been alive. After she died Kihyun had taken an apprenticeship as a hunter, and the two of them had been raised more by the general community than not. There weren’t many people Minhyuk counted as his. But Kihyun was one of them, had always been.

“You’re right,” Minhyuk said, not for the first time that conversation. “I wouldn’t - I wouldn’t be able to imagine going anywhere without you, either.”

“Damn right,” Kihyun muttered, then inspected the pads of his fingers. “I think I’m getting pruny. We should head back, give the others a turn.” He hauled himself out and began to dress with very little fuss.

It was testament to how well they knew each other that the abrupt change in topic hadn’t fazed Minhyuk at all. “Okay,” he agreed, dragging himself out as well. After he put his clothes on he reached for the canteens, and the two of them worked in silence for a while.

“That’s the last of em,” Kihyun announced, straightening up and stretching his back. “Come on. I bet it’s time to eat, too.”

Minhyuk scrambled to his feet, arms cluttered with his burden. “Wait up,” he complained. The curious gravity of earlier was gone. “I haven’t got my shoes on properly!”

“You really wouldn’t survive without me,” Kihyun observed mildly, stopping and taking some of the bottles from Minhyuk as he set down the bucket so that he could work his feet into his boots. 

This time Minhyuk didn’t give him the satisfaction of knowing he was right. “Last one there’s a Lesser Mongoose, loser,” he announced as he straightened up, grabbing a few of the canteens from Kihyun. 

Then he launched off into a steady gallop, laughing even as he heard Kihyun’s squawk of outrage at being left with the bucket and on the losing end of a clear lead time.

It had been good to hear from Kihyun that it would be alright, eventually. He had to believe it, if he was to stay his course. In the meantime, it would have to be enough.


	2. a crack in something whole

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Sneak attack,” Changkyun said, offering a hand to hoist Minhyuk up. “Greater Plains Rats. We were caught off guard, that’s all.”
> 
> He could see that, Minhyuk thought gloomily. Those were some of the largest rats he’d ever seen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG. I STARTED PLAYING NEW HORIZONS AND WELL... yeah that's all I have to say for myself
> 
> Happy 5th year of Monsta X's debut! These boys have given me so much, and I will always be grateful.

The next day was far cooler than the one before. Minhyuk trudged along at a decent pace, content to mind his own thoughts as the others chattered idly around him.

“Speaking of. You never told us why you decided to tag along with a cleric and a bunch of people with very tenuous connection.” He snapped his head up at the sound of Kihyun’s even tones, conversational as he turned his head to face Jooheon.

Jooheon tilted his head a little, then shrugged. “He wanted to come along, so why not?”

Changkyun - for it was him Jooheon had indicated - shrugged the shoulder opposite to the one Jooheon had. It made them look for a moment eerily alike.

With a thumb he indicated the instrument strapped across his back. “Bard, remember? You can’t expect me not to travel. I’d have like five songs and no money to eat.” He paused, then - “And _don’t_ tell me to just knick food off people, that’s not how I work.”

Jooheon made a show of deflating like he was genuinely disappointed Changkyun didn’t want to learn the finer points of thieving from him. “Aw.”

“Your guild, though,” Kihyun pressed, sounding intrigued. Minhyuk listened only, too - they didn’t have one in their city. “Didn’t they - I don’t know, have something to say about you leaving.”

“Oh, them.” Jooheon cracked a smile, right corner tugging higher than the left. His cheeks dimpled handsomely as he did. “They wouldn’t kick their best man out just because he wanted to take a break for a while.”

“Ooh,” Changkyun piped up, excitedly. “ _Right_. Haven’t you seen a ton of fancy mansions? Or their rafters, at least. Pray do tell.”

Jooheon wriggled his eyebrows at Changkyun and Kihyun. “Have I,” he said. “Maybe I’ll tell you guys some other time. A man’s got to preserve his mystery, after all.”

Kihyun let out a hot huff of air. “Boo,” he said, “No fun.”

There was a beat of silence, and then Jooheon barked a laugh. “That’s the first time I’ve seen you act out, hyung,” he commented, amused. “You’re usually so reserved.”

“I’m not acting _out,”_ Kihyun said dourly. “I’ve never acted out in my life. I’m mature, and one with the forest like my master taught me. I do not have a single heated feeling in my emotional vocabulary, and that’s that.”

“That’s… kind of cute,” Changkyun noted. “Hey, Wonho-hyung, isn’t Kihyun-hyung kind of cute?”

At their head, Wonho turned around from where he and Shownu had been engaged in a quiet conversation and greeted them with a smile. “Kihyunie?” He glanced at Kihyun, who glowered daggers back.

“Yeah,” he concluded, brilliantly. The sun could’ve wept trying to outshine his expression. “The cutest.”

“Just because he’s older than me,” Kihyun muttered, then he whipped around and grabbed Minhyuk, forcibly dragging him into the conversation. “Min. You know me the best. Tell them I’m a cool and composed person and have never had any flights of whimsy ever.”

Unbidden, Minhyuk’s eyebrows shot straight into his hairline. “That you… most certainly are, Kihyun,” he said. And then added, for good measure, “And you aren’t cute in the least.”

Kihyun opened his mouth, clearly to thank Minhyuk for backing him up, then seemed to think better of it. His jaw snapped shut and his eyes narrowed. “Hey, wait a sec -”

A shadow loomed above them. Minhyuk felt a hand fist in the back of his robes and _tug_ , and it was only by virtue of some sheer animal instinct that he managed to fall into a roll when he hit the ground. The dirt of the path was unforgiving; when he exhaled, it turned into a series of coughs as he spat dust out.

When he raised his head, dazed, he found Changkyun peering down at him. “You good?” Behind him there was a flurry of weapons and magic.

“Sneak attack,” Changkyun said, offering a hand to hoist Minhyuk up. “Greater Plains Rats. We were caught off guard, that’s all.”

He could see that, Minhyuk thought gloomily. Those were some of the largest rats he’d ever seen. Each was easily the height of a fully grown man if it had been standing up; as one lay felled to the side near him Minhyuk caught a glimpse of the size of its tail and shuddered.

Still, before he could suggest to Changkyun that they maybe chip in and help out, the last one keeled over with a forlorn cry. Minhyuk winced at the sound of it; they weren’t so different from the smaller, less bloodthirsty variety.

Supporting himself with his stave Minhyuk got up to head over to the others. For the most part they looked none the worse for wear - invigorated from the fight, even - except Wonho, who was examining his arm with a careful physician’s touch. A large, bloody gash revealed itself in his bicep.

Minhyuk rushed over. “Oh my god, hyung. How bad is it?”

Wonho smiled reassuringly at him, nose scrunching. “One grazed me with its teeth, that’s all.” He set down his axe and started patting about for his medicine pack. “Shouldn’t take too long to heal.”

 _Grazed?_ Minhyuk cast a covert glance to the side, and noted the incredible, forearm-sized front teeth. He looked back at Wonho’s arm. At least the bone wasn’t showing.

“If you can disinfect it just to be sure, hyung,” he offered, “I can heal it for you.” Embarrassed, he dipped his head. “Would be faster.”

“Oh!” Wonho brightened up. Then, a bit shyly: “I’ve never been healed before. This’ll be the first time.”

Absurdly enough, Minhyuk felt his ears heating up as he bent to help Wonho with his axe and lead him to the side of the road to sit. “It’s nothing fancy,” he mumbled, and indicated for Wonho to sit down when they had found a good spot.

Briskly, Wonho opened his pack and pulled out a glass bottle of a transparent solution, tinged faintly yellow. He uncapped it and poured some of the solution onto his wound, and wiped off the excess with a cloth. Despite his silence, Minhyuk saw the whiteness in his face and knew that it must have stung.

Suddenly he was awash with guilt. _Maybe if I’d helped earlier instead of needing to be dragged out of the way so I didn’t end up as a casualty…_

“Minhyuk?” It was Wonho’s gentle voice that tugged him out of his thoughts. “I’m ready now, if you are.”

Minhyuk snapped his attention back to the wound. With some of the blood cleared away it looked less frightful. Still, if left to heal naturally, it would have taken the better part of a month. He took a deep breath. Here, at least, was something he could help with.

Gathering himself fully back to the present, he got into a kneeling position and held one hand over the wound, the other bracing the underside of Wonho’s arm. Then he closed his eyes and searched for that tab in the room of his mind - the one that, when pulled, would tug open a door to let some light through...

He heard a sharp intake of breath, a murmur like a _whoa_. He didn’t need to open his eyes to see the healing, because he felt it surge through his veins, folding through his soul with light.

Minhyuk had never been very good at the other duties required of him, but it had emerged early on that he had a gift for the healing art. Years and years of practice had taught him everything he needed to know about curing wounds. He felt Wonho’s pain, and tugged at it, giving him restfulness in exchange.

At first it came slowly, resisting - then it steadied into a stream, and soon he felt the last of the magic required taper through to a stop. He closed the link, and opened his eyes.

“There you go,” he said, with a smile. “Good as new.”

Wonho was looking at his arm, amazed. “Whoa,” he said again, awed. He traced a finger over the skin, marveling at its smoothness. “You’re gonna put me out of a job. That was amazing.”

And oddly personal. The healing had been easy because Wonho’s spirit was steadfast; refused weakness to pain, and readily accepted the touch of the light. He was used to the _knowing_ that came with a healing, but it still took a while to shake it off, to tuck that knowledge away inside a box afterwards.

“It’s the least I can do,” Minhyuk replied. “And it only works for wounds, so I’m pretty sure we have to keep you around for now.”

Wonho shook his head again, still impressed. “Thank you. The rest of me feels better, too.” He paused then, a worry coming into his features. “That… you didn’t take on my fatigue for me, did you?”

Minhyuk got to his feet and dusted off his robes. “Not quite,” he assured Wonho. He held a hand out to the apothecary to help him up. “It’s a little complicated, but don’t worry about it. I’m just glad you’re feeling better now.”

While they had been occupied, the others had gathered nearby. As they approached Jooheon started towards them, looking concerned - then incredulous, as he saw Wonho’s arm completely healed. Minhyuk supposed he must have seen it happen; he patted Wonho on the shoulder and gave him a little shove towards their friend, leaving it to them to check in with each other.

“They don’t usually do that,” Shownu said, when Minhyuk had taken his place next to Kihyun and nodded to show that he was ready. “Plains Rats aren’t known to attack humans who haven’t first aggressed on them.”

“Maybe we were on their territory?” Changkyun suggested, picking out the faint strains of a tune on his lute. Listening to it sank a peace deep into Minhyuk’s bones; he thought he could feel his strength return. He caught Changkyun’s eye and slid him a grateful half smile. Changkyun cast him a wink in return.

Kihyun shook his head. “I’ve hunted them many times before in my youth,” he said. “Shownu-hyung is right. They aren’t particularly territorial animals. The only time they attack first is if you enter their nest, and as you can tell we’re far from doing that at the present.” He gestured to the wide rolling green around them.

Then he turned to Minhyuk, and fixed him with a solemn stare. “It’s the Frenzy, isn’t it?”

Oh. Minhyuk felt his heart bottom out in his stomach, even as the others turned to look at him with varying degrees of confusion. “Yeah,” he admitted slowly, softly. “Most likely. It’s what I was warned about.”

“So it’s true?” Minhyuk snapped his head up at the sound of Hyungwon’s voice, blessedly putting form to the words he was struggling to say. “The Dark has been growing stronger?”

Of course Hyungwon would have heard about it; he knew the scholars kept a close eye on the balance of Energy. “It’s - yeah,” he confirmed. “This journey I’m on. They…”

His mouth was dry as he thought about the uncertainties that plagued him when he had been summoned to the Bishop’s office, that darkened his thoughts still. He soldiered on. “I was entrusted to travel the realm to confirm the accounts,” he said, softly.

“And to do something about it.” A sharp voice cut through the air; when Minhyuk met Jooheon’s eyes there was something akin to pity, even as he knew Jooheon was merely putting the pieces together on the spot. “There’s been no official word of the Church raising a movement to address the rumours, after all.”

As he spoke, he seemed to unravel everything Minhyuk had been unwilling to face or say by the acuity of his instinct alone. “They sent a junior member of the clergy. Alone. Why?”

He didn’t want to go any further into it. Part of him was relieved they’d figured it out for themselves, even as he wondered if they would still be willing to accompany him now they knew the object of his forsaken journey.

Yet another part - stubborn, impulsive - reared its ugly head, proclaiming that he didn’t know these people well and owed as little to them as they did to him. He liked them, of course, but in truth they had traveled this far on the general lack of schedule of the others and the unquestioning agreeability of their de facto leader alone. They hadn’t _been_ through anything together. He couldn’t expect them to continue on a loyalty that didn’t exist.

He hadn’t realised he’d spent so long mulling until Kihyun’s voice broke the silence. “Who knows what goes on in Church politics, right?” His tone was a tent of levity propped up on a shambles of firewood and lighthearted ribbing. “Anyway, we’re really sorry we didn’t tell you earlier. It wasn’t the easiest thing to reveal -”

“If you guys don’t want to come along anymore, that’s okay,” Minhyuk said, quietly. He hadn’t needed to raise his voice for the finality in his words to broach the space amongst them. “I have to do this, but if it makes you uncomfortable in any way to come along, you can always take another path at Altimor - ”

“Minhyuk.” Wonho broke the ranks of their shoddily formed circle, and crossed over to crouch in front of him, nudging his head into Minhyuk’s vision to look him in the eye. “Maybe we don’t know each other that well yet, but I can tell you have a good heart.”

He fixed Minhyuk with a firm gaze that seemed to suggest that the link during the healing had been two way. A viewing window.

“I can’t speak for the others, but for me, even without your big scary quest I would want to be traveling to places to help people anyway. At least like this I have a great crew to travel with. Strength in numbers, yeah?” When he smiled his nose crinkled. Minhyuk felt his heart lift a little.

“Sounds to me like you’ll need company,” Changkyun piped up, appearing next to Wonho. “Plus if you do something cool, I get to be the one who writes the ode.”

He patted his travel pack, and quirked a winning smile as he leaned against Wonho companionably. “Oh, to author the next great tavern tune!” None too gently, he jostled Jooheon next to him, who startled a little, then looked Minhyuk dead in the eye and mouthed, _Mansions._ To pilfer, obviously.

“You promised to take me on my great adventure,” Hyungwon added helpfully. “You can’t do that if I’m not right there with you.” Next to him Shownu said nothing, offering instead a tiny smile that said all he needed it to.

Dumbly Minhyuk scanned their faces, realisation dawning. He wasn’t sure he’d done anything to _deserve_ the support, even when - perhaps especially when - he knew that it was him who wouldn’t be able to get far without the rest around. But he was grateful - thought that maybe, with time, that could come to be enough.

He blinked himself out of the daze as Kihyun gently moseyed closer to him and nudged him in the side. “Can’t get rid of them that easy,” he quipped gently. “Time to give up on that.”

Something stirred in Minhyuk’s chest, the beginnings of a warmth that felt like belonging. “I guess not,” he admitted aloud, trying not to sound as awed or overwhelmed as he felt. He gave them his best effort at a brave grin, even though he knew it must’ve come out watery.

“Least of all you, huh?”

Kihyun smiled, the earnest one he reserved for very rare occasions, and tugged Minhyuk up into a standing position when he took hold of his outstretched hand.

“No,” he agreed very soundly, as he ushered the rest of them into action with threats of having to sleep in a roadside ditch if they lost any more daylight. The others had dissipated back into their travel formation when he next spoke. “Least of all me.”

—-

It was midday before they finally arrived in Altimor, sweaty and with muscles aching but otherwise not much worse for wear. Minhyuk took a while to take in the town - it was lively, to be sure, with a bustling market and both people and carts crowding its streets - and felt the buzz sink into his bones, warming him.

_There have been some reports that the Frenzy has affected people, too. It’s a relief to see that life appears to be going on as per normal, at least for now..._

“Cobbled stone,” came an exhausted voice. Minhyuk turned his head to see as Hyungwon dramatically dropped to the ground, hands moulding to the grooves of the path with nothing short of wonder. “Sweet love of mine. I had thought I would never see you again.”

Wonho made a sort of snort-laugh, then wandered over, toeing him lightly in the rear. “If you think that’s huge,” he jibed gently, “Wait ‘til you hear about beds.”

Hyungwon’s eyes grew to moons as he made a noise that might have had mothers shielding their children’s ears had they heard. “ _Mattresses,_ ” he moaned. “I’d forgotten they were even real.”

Shownu observed him thoughtfully. “Perhaps we should plan our route to hit larger villages and towns.”

Hyungwon shot up like a panicked Scaddian Peahen at that. “No, no, don’t do that on my account,” he all but cried. “I was just being dramatic. For fun! I promise!”

Wonho patted his shoulder consolingly. “We can talk about it altogether later,” he said. “More proper beds might be better for all of us.”

Feeling the gazes on his back, Minhyuk turned around just enough to send them an assuring smile. Before this they had simply been heading North in the straightest line possible - he supposed a few more days here and there couldn’t hurt their journey too badly.

_Or would it? It’s not like I was given any clearer instruction than to head towards the Far Continent…_

“We should find an inn,” Kihyun interjected, popping up seemingly out of nowhere. “Rest. Put our stuff down. See to whatever business we might have here.” He slid a look over to Minhyuk at this, then back away. “Might be nice to have some fresh produce, too.”

“Well, you’re in luck.” It was Jooheon coming back down towards them, looking pleased with himself. Minhyuk blinked - he hadn’t even noticed he’d slipped away. “I’ve gone on ahead and scoped out the town. Right his way, please…”

—-

They were two to a room, with the exception of Hyungwon, who roomed with Shownu and Wonho. Minhyuk leaned back against the wall of their tiny space - barely three strides across - and closed his eyes, letting himself soak in the reprieve. He’d peeled off all his robes and cast them to the side, pulling on instead a casual linen shirt that let his skin finally breathe.

On the other bed Kihyun sat, carefully checking his tools. Every now and then he stopped to sharpen an arrowhead or a knife. The sound might have been grating to him, once upon a time, but it had long since been made familiar. Now if he gave in to it his mind told him they were back home, in Kihyun’s cottage, resting after another day of exploration.

“You have to visit the church,” Kihyun stated, after a lengthy silence had come and gone. “Send word, look pretty and all.”

Minhyuk cracked open an eye that he trained directly onto Kihyun, and smiled crookedly. “Seems you know more about my duties than I do, huh.”

Kihyun sniffled a little, and pointed the whetstone at him threateningly. “Only because someone has to keep track of you for you.”

He let himself bark out the laugh that made itself known at that, and shook his head. “You’re right, as usual.” Minhyuk pulled himself into a straighter sitting position, then looked over at his robes with distaste. “Was hoping to put it off for longer, but I should do it before the sun sets, huh.”

Kihyun eyed him with sympathy. “We don’t have to go just yet,” he soothed. “Perhaps in an hour or so. Whenever you’re ready.” He gestured towards his hands with his chin, as if to say, _I’m occupied anyway._

Absurdly, Minhyuk felt himself swallowing against a burbling emotion. There was that _We_ that Kihyun had used, although he was in no way obliged to accompany Minhyuk on these trips. There would hardly be any danger for a cleric of the Star in a town like this. That he had offered was because he held the knowledge that Minhyuk hated to do these things alone.

“You don’t have to wait on me,” Minhyuk said, despite himself. Something about the journey was sitting oddly with him. He took a deep breath, held it for a few seconds, then slowly let it out, waiting to see if it eased any of the pressure ballooning unevenly in his chest, threatening to explode.

It didn’t.

Something in his tone clearly gave him away. Kihyun glanced up again, suddenly, then reached behind him and tossed whatever it was lightly in Minhyuk’s direction. “Here, catch.”

Minhyuk’s heart somersaulted out of his chest and tried to make a heroic dash for freedom. He flailed, and caught the item just barely with his left hand. It shuddered, jangling almost - he steadied his grip and it fell still.

He relaxed his fingers, and looked. A mid-length dagger made itself known, its weight and heft foreign in his hand. Slowly he drew it out of the sheath and inspected it. It was plain, unadorned, its edge dulling. He tore his eyes away from it for long enough to quirk a questioning eyebrow at Kihyun.

“Close combat,” Kihyun said, like that explained everything. “Unless you want to be smacking people upside the head with that ostentatious stave of yours forever.”

Minhyuk huffed. The weapon in question was far from ostentatious, carved of dark mahogany and nothing else. It was, however, unsuited to anything besides channeling magic. He grasped the knife in his hand and drew languid figures-eight in the air with it, trying to get used to the way it felt. It was strange. He didn’t hate it.

“I don’t know how to fight,” he reminded Kihyun at length, after he’d found his voice. “You’ve seen me try.”

Kihyun’s features crinkled into a smile at this. Minhyuk knew he was remembering the countless hunting trips he had tagged along on, the innumerable occasions on which he’d scared away Kihyun’s prey because he’d knocked into a branch, or the pale brown of his acolyte’s robes had caught a passing ray of sun.

“You can’t _hunt_ ,” Kihyun corrected. “You can always learn how to use a weapon.”

Could he? Minhyuk looked at the blade in his hands and thought of how he’d felt, blinking the daze out of his eyes as he watched his companions fight. He tilted the blade back and forth, and caught on its edge a waning piece of daylight.

“I’ll teach you,” Kihyun added, like it was the most obvious thing on earth. Maybe it was. “Starting from the basics of weapon care.” Then he nodded towards the window, like he could read Minhyuk’s mind. “But later. You ready to go?”

Feeling a little bit different, Minhyuk nodded slowly as he stood up and fumbled to notch the dagger to his belt. Now would be as good a time as any to get used to the feeling of its weight by his side.

“Yeah,” he said, reaching for his layers and beginning to pull them on methodically. As they eclipsed his form he was hyper-aware of the dagger resting against his thigh, like a promise of a beginning. “Lead the way, buddy-boy.”

—-

“Light shall find your way.”

“And it shall find yours too.”

Minhyuk smiled, the one he had perfected down to the degree, and inclined his head respectfully. The priest touched his shoulder with the staff he held, and he rose from the half-kneel, turning now to go.

“Would that I could offer you greater guidance…”

Stunned, he turned to find the man watching him, eyes brilliant in the shadows of his heavy brow. Minhyuk remembered to close his mouth, feeling it gape, then lowered his gaze immediately, at once all out of sorts.

“You have done far more than necessary by letting me seek your counsel.”

The elder sighed, tearing a hole in their veil of formality. “I do not think you should have been sent alone,” he said, but there was a distance to it, like he was considering something else. The air about him sagged; Minhyuk wondered what he knew.

“I - ”

Didn’t know what he could add to this conversation. He had entered alone and without fuss, prayed at the altar, and spoken briefly with the priest. In truth he had chosen that they stop at a smaller town and not the major city, well aware of the politicking of the senior clergy. At his request the man had readily promised to send word on his behalf, wise eyes knowing.

They were equally powerless here.

“Thank you once more,” Minhyuk said, abruptly, straightening up and trying to will some courage into his voice. “It is my duty to seek the answers I desire.”

The priest looked at him, almost sorrowful. The church was small but well-kept, and held a warmth to it despite the paint peeling at its corners, the plain untinted glass that let light in.

“It is my hope that you find them,” he said, finally, then rose himself to show Minhyuk the way out. “Come.”

As he stepped out of the door and began down the path that wound down back towards the market Kihyun materialised from the trees, falling into step with him wordlessly.

“How’d it go?” he asked, after a few beats. “You look… out of it.”

Minhyuk shook his head. “He couldn’t tell me any more than what we already know. The creatures are restless; there have been unprovoked attacks closer to the town than ever before.” Then he paused, remembering. “And about the effect on humans…”

Kihyun looked at him sharply. “Yeah?”

“Nothing much has happened yet. But he’s seen an increase in townsfolk confessing that they have felt untoward desires - like the urge to hurt.”

Kihyun pursed his lips, and sighed. “Ah.”

That did make Minhyuk laugh - Kihyun’s succinct description of how he was feeling. He had barely any information and a creeping sense of doom slowly seeping in at the corners of their quest - what on earth was he supposed to do?

 _I’m a cleric,_ he thought miserably. _I tend to the spirit of the everyman. Nothing more._ He raised a hand and called forth a ball of light, staring into it until it hurt his eyes. _I suppose I’m also useful if you need to read at night. I guess._

A hand closed around his, putting the fire out. “What are you doing,” Kihyun asked, in a tone that meant he knew exactly what. His touch lingered for a second before it pulled away. “I bet you’re starving. Tell you what, I found a nice tavern - dinner’s on me.”

Minhyuk’s thoughts derailed entirely, then refocused sharper than a titanium blade. “I’m sorry, what, _you’re_ treating? Since when?”

Kihyun grinned cockily at him, one corner of his mouth tilting upwards and revealing a dimple high in his cheek.

“Since it turns out townsfolk will pay a tidy sum for a few freshly caught hares,” he supplied, indicating the trees back the way they had come with his head. “Had to do _something_ while you were gone.”

Ruthless efficiency. Kihyun never failed to amaze him. Not that he’d ever open his mouth to let him know that.

“In that case,” Minhyuk drawled, nudging Kihyun in the side, “I hope you know, I’m famished.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As per usual, do drop me a comment just to let me know if you liked it :) It helps me feel less like I'm talking to myself out here.

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you liked - comments really are everything to an author. I’ll update when I can, haha.


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